Monster Hunter Tales 3: Twisted Reflection (Swap 2)
Capcom didn’t disappoint when it got here to Monster Hunter Tales 3: Twisted Reflection, both. I additionally performed this handheld on a Swap 2. It rapidly grew to become my private Recreation of the Present, although I’m a bit biased as a result of I completely liked Wings of Smash and may’t wait for an additional iteration of what I take into account the very best creature-battling system on the market.
Ditching the customisable protagonist, Twisted Reflection as an alternative stars a person named Leo, the Captain of a gaggle known as the Rangers and in addition royalty of some kind, as his Palico buddy saved calling him Your Highness.
Within the demo, he’s tasked with exhibiting a younger recruit named Thea — and by extension, me — the ins-and-outs of a posh battle system by taking down some Velocipray and later a Paolumu earlier than a frenzied Chatacabra served as a boss struggle that just about wiped my staff of a Rathalos, Yian Kut-Ku, and Tobi-Kadachi.
It ran nice on the Swap 2’s small display screen with little pop-in as I climbed towers to get a greater view of the encircling space. The colorful, sprawling world I noticed from up there delivered to thoughts the primary time I climbed a Sheikah Tower in Zelda: Breath of the Wild; as such, you’ll be able to in all probability guess that I’m tremendous excited to play extra when it releases in March 2026.
Mega Man Star Drive Legacy Assortment (Swap 1)
Let’s get the ultimate Capcom sport out of the way in which: Mega Man Star Drive: Legacy Assortment brings collectively all three Star Drive video games and their respective variations; at TGS, I might solely pattern the primary Mega Man Star Drive from the Nintendo DS and never the second or the third, which have been on 3DS.
I performed by way of the opening moments of the Dragon model the place Geo receives a Vizualizer headset that permits him to see the Wave World and meet Omega-Xis, an alien lifeform that helps him take out different aliens invading the Earth. Whereas a lot of the demo was spent mashing by way of dialogue — studying about Geo’s lacking father, the BrotherBand system, and arguing with classmates — I performed on a comically giant TV for a port of a DS sport and got here away impressed with how crisp it appeared.
This was very true of the 3D, grid-based battles that have been proper at dwelling on a much bigger display screen. Nonetheless, I’ll seemingly play largely handheld when it comes out someday in 2026.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (Swap 2)
Sure, publishers apart from Capcom had video games for the Swap 2 at TGS this 12 months, and certainly one of them was Koei Tecmo’s Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, a follow-up to Age of Calamity. I’m not a lot of a musou fan, however I’m an enormous Zelda fan; as such, I put a few dozen hours into Age of Calamity and am pretty excited for this follow-up.
The very first thing I seen sitting down with the docked model is how properly it ran. Age of Calamity was a stuttery mess on Swap 1 and I half anticipated to see slowdown as I swapped between Zelda, Rauru, and Mineru as they fought by way of waves of Little Frox and Soldier Constructs earlier than taking up a boss Frox within the Depths beneath Hyrule.
Not solely did I take advantage of Zonai Gadgets like Flame Emitters, I additionally activated team-up assaults between the playable heroes. Zelda and Rauru, for instance, every shot a beam of sunshine from a hand that I aimed individually with the left and proper sticks.
Nonetheless, Mineru’s equipment stole the present. As an alternative of dashing, she summons a Zonai Gadget wheel to experience on, and on the finish of her assaults, she’ll usually spawn autos made up of Zonai Gadgets to deal sweeping injury over giant areas. I’ll get the possibility to grasp her moveset when Age of Imprisonment releases on sixth November.
As soon as Upon a Katamari (Swap 1)
I haven’t performed quite a lot of Katamari Damacy earlier than, however the enjoyable I had with As soon as Upon a Katamari at TGS satisfied me that may’ve been a mistake. With an enormous ball of rolled-up refuse drawing consideration in one of many primary halls, it was a tough sport to overlook and the primary one I performed after I arrived.
I had a grand outdated time rolling a large ball round a small Japanese village paying homage to Kyoto — full with a few pagodas and a fort — on my approach to a really unimpressive D Rank. In reality, the workers stepped in and turned on the ‘simple’ controls for me slightly than the basic set a few minutes in. I didn’t have to admit my failure, however right here we’re.
Regardless, I had enjoyable jiving to an upbeat electrical monitor that repeatedly assured me that I’m a star. Luckily, I’ll have one other likelihood to get the next rank when As soon as Upon a Katamari comes out in below a month on twenty fourth October.
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake (Swap 1 & 2)
Whereas Octopath Traveler 0 wasn’t playable at TGS, I did sit down with the PlayStation 5 model of Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake. Whereas DQ III HD-2D Remake suffered on the unique Swap, the Swap 2 enhancements introduced it extra on par with beefier {hardware}, so I anticipate to see this twin prequel follow-up operating simply as properly when it releases on thirtieth October.
I performed Dragon Quest II first, which started within the city of Beran. I instantly seen how way more concerned the social gathering members are on this narrative sequel. You see, we travelled south by boat to a shrine the place a mermaid granted us the flexibility to journey underwater — a brand new addition to Dragon Quest II that you will have already seen gameplay of already — and every of the social gathering members confirmed off a little bit of character right here. The Prince of Cannock, named Cookie for some purpose on this demo, shied away from receiving a kiss from the mermaid, for example.
I spent a little bit of time floating about on my approach to rescue different mermaids from a monster invasion, selecting up gear from sparkly spots underwater a lot the identical means I did in Dragon Quest III and battling basic Dragon Quest monsters by turning the battle velocity as much as Very Quick and setting all members to Present No Mercy, as Rubiss meant.
I did bounce over to Dragon Quest I after that, a sport I’ve little expertise with, and travelled because the solo hero chasing down good outdated Robin ‘Ood after he stole the Thief’s Key from a shady service provider. Common enemies didn’t stand a lot likelihood towards my hero, geared up as he was with a Thorn Whip and a Zap spell, however dealing with Robin ‘Ood and two of his lackeys alone made for a tough struggle that I couldn’t overcome.
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam (Swap 1 & 2)
Chances are you’ll keep in mind I included Stage-5’s Professor Layton and the New World of Steam in final 12 months’s roundup alongside a full hands-on, which might usually disqualify it for this one prefer it did Inazuma Eleven: Victory Highway. Nonetheless, this time round I bought to discover a special part of the sport whereas utilizing the Pleasure-Con 2’s Mouse Mode to unravel puzzles within the American metropolis of Steam Bison.
I sadly discovered the mouse management awkward and a little bit painful whereas standing as much as play. Regardless, I managed to unravel three puzzles and speak to fairly just a few denizens of Steam Bison whereas Layton looked for Luke earlier than the demo clock ran down; this seems like a way more ‘alive’ setting than earlier Professor Layton video games.
Fairly actually the primary puzzle within the sport did confound me, although. It required trying to find one thing uncommon on a statue in town sq., nevertheless it wasn’t a lot of a puzzle because it was a trick. I gained’t spoil it, nevertheless it requires you to roughly ignore the directions (click on and submit an uncommon spot on the statue) for one thing a bit extra obscure.
The following puzzle, nonetheless, required me to drag-and-drop cogs onto a barge to ferry them throughout the river within the correct sequence, and that one felt way more Professor Layton-esque to me. Sadly, we’ll all have to attend to see the energy of the puzzles for some time, as it has been delayed to someday in 2026.
Little Nightmares III (Swap 1 & 2)
Stuart Gipp reviewed Little Nightmares II for Nintendo Life fairly properly again in 2021, and the third entry appears to be like to enhance upon the final in each means. Whereas I performed the PlayStation 5 model, I discovered the 20 minutes I spent with this little horror sport equal elements disturbing and charming.
It does, nonetheless, seem to be a sport primarily designed for co-op. Because the demo started, I had to decide on between two characters: the bow-wielding Loss or the wrench-wielding Alone. I went with Alone, and thankfully the AI was practical sufficient to regulate Loss as we labored collectively to unravel puzzles and keep away from grotesque, brutish enemies in a haunted circus setting.
At one level, Loss needed to shoot the pinnacle off small zombie males for me to whack with my Wrench. In one other part, Loss routinely went to tug a swap on the exact second I turned a crank to energy it. Nonetheless, it appears very very like a sport you’d have to play with a pal to get the total expertise.
For those who do have a pal in thoughts, you don’t have lengthy to attend to present Little Nightmares III a shot – it comes out on tenth October.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide (Swap 2)
No, actually—I used to be shocked at how a lot SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide channelled that Nintendo 64-era collectathon vitality after I performed a PC model at TGS. However if you happen to performed SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Backside – Rehydrated or SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake, you in all probability know higher than me that these are some top-tier 3D platformers.
As at all times in Bikini Backside, one thing’s going awry: this time round, the ghastly Flying Dutchmen curses SpongeBob and the townsfolk when his order on the Krusty Krab takes too lengthy. This, in fact, turns SpongeBob and different townsfolk into ghosts.
After a brief tutorial, the sport handed me management of Patrick as I made my approach to rescue SpongeBob, leaping, gliding, gathering cash, and bopping evil ghosts throwing buckets of chum at me as I did so.
Whereas this wasn’t the Swap 2 model, you’ll be able to anticipate to play SpongeBob’s newest absurd journey for your self pretty quickly: it comes out on 18th November.
D-Topia (Swap 1 & 2)
Annapurna Interactive doesn’t usually miss as a writer. With video games like Sayonara Wild Hearts and Stray below their banner, I took word after I noticed their brightly lit sales space on the TGS showfloor. Whereas certainly one of their video games, Demi and the Fractured Dream, channelled Wind Waker vitality, I got here away most intrigued by D-Topia.
In it, you assume the position of a younger man as he arrives at a spot known as — you guessed it — D-Topia that markets itself as a utopia that maximises human happiness and luxury. Your character is assigned the quantity 046 and units off to work as a Facility Mechanic, which entails fixing issues for native residents.
This normally includes some type of logic puzzle: those I skilled have been math-based, requiring me to maneuver numbered blocks to their correct spot. Nonetheless, sure obstacles like lasers and unmovable blocks make this a bit tougher.
I anticipated issues to get a little bit creepy however solely discovered a speaking mouse that claimed larger intelligence than people; that mentioned, the conclusion of the demo hinted that somebody — or one thing — is investigating 046. I’m curious to see what that’s all about when it releases someday in 2026.
And there you will have it – 10 video games coming to the Nintendo Swap or Swap 2 that stood out to me at Tokyo Recreation Present 2025. It was a lot more durable than final 12 months to curate this listing into simply 10 video games, and as extra builders come up with scarce dev kits, Perhaps we’ll should make it an inventory of 20 video games subsequent 12 months!
